Hello friends! I just wanted to pop on here and give you some updates about the shop and all that we have going on here! I absolutely can not believe that it is the middle of August already, summer goes too fast!
This summer has been quite a busy and exciting one for us and I am so sad that it coming an end. Three months sounds like a long time but boy can it go by in a flash!
With school starting in a couple of weeks the sunset dinners outside on the porch and working out in my gardens until dark, a few of my favorite things about the summer, will also be coming to an end.
We have been lucky enough to have had the pleasure of taking many camping trips this summer, a beach trip and a trip to see our family in Brooklyn. I have been spending just about every second that isn't designated for something else working on the shop. I have been scraping, sanding and painting my heart out. It is really all we are able to do right now as we are still waiting to hear all that needs to be done to be permitted to operate as a retail space. Pennsylvania Labor and Industry requires that you have blue prints drawn up of all improvements and/or things that you add like counters, ramps, etc. so that they know you are building them to Uniform Construction Code. Once those blue prints are submitted to them by our architect and they approve them then we can actually start working on those things which will put one step closer to opening!
It is frustrating that we have absolutely no idea when we will be able to open because of all of this but we have lots of cosmetic stuff to focus in the meantime...like getting the walls painted a creamy white which will create the perfect back drop for our goods.
And honestly I am just so excited to have this place be the home of our future shop in the first place that I find it really hard to complain that things are taking so long. Every moment spent working here is literally a dream come true for me.
I was especially excited to get the front doors painted a fresh but historic looking green (Behr's Chard) that will look perfect throughout the seasons. I am hoping that a lot of customers will eventually be walking through these old doors and I wanted them to really make a statement. I am currently in the process of painting the whole front part with the windows with the green as well. I can't wait to have it all done so that I can hang some big beautiful wreaths on the doors!
Not everything we have been working on has been just cosmetic though, this building has come with some challenges, as all old buildings do! There are many issues that need to be addressed but one of the most urgent was removing the large bee hives from the building. There were two large hives by both entrances and we were nervous that at some point all of the walking in and out while we were working would upset the hives. We were adamant that they not be killed and were told to call Critter McCool to have the bees removed as he is the most experienced in our area at removing large hives. Well we were surprised to find through his infrared technology that the hives were way larger than we expected. They were so large in fact that our story made national news! So many of my Instagram followers have messaged me from across the US that they have seen our news story! So cool (no pun intended)! Visit http://www.erienewsnow.com/story/38844454/massive-beehives-removed-from-old-auction-house-in-linesville to see the story and to see some great footage of the building! A giant thank you to Eric McCool for the amazing job he did at removing such large hives!
Any time not spent working at the shop I have spent out looking for goods for the shop and for the Springfield, Ohio Antique Extravaganza next month! We sold a ton of stuff at the Vintage Market Days Pittsburgh show so I get to look for all new stuff for Springfield! It's hard to say what I love the most about my job but boy there is nothing like the thrill of the hunt!
I also wanted to let you guys know that I have made a website for the shop farmhousesupply.net. Once we are open it will have shop hours, location and seasonal events on it. I have also started water marking all photos of the shop with the website to get the word out!
That is all for now! Thank you guys so much for following along on this amazing journey!!!
